


A Family of Martyrs

by KB_Sinclair



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2018-12-19 14:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11900001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KB_Sinclair/pseuds/KB_Sinclair
Summary: Robin isn't the only one who can sacrifice herself to destroy Grima once and for all. It turns out she passed that ability(and burden) on to her children. Left with not only two options but four, the Exalted family has an important decision to make.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was setting in the East, and the area was calm. Earlier in the day, the Shepherds had set up camp at the peak of Mount Prism. They decided to use their moment of peace to ponder over the information they have received from their Goddess. Yet, with the ruckus erupting from the war tent that was currently occupied by the Exalted family, rest was the last thing anyone could get.

"Are they still goin' at it?" Sully asked, wincing at the sound of intense shouting coming from the war tent. A noise that had continued without rest for over an hour.

Libra slowly nodded, grimacing with sympathy for the Exalted family, "Yes, and I doubt it will end anytime soon. A great burden has been placed upon them tonight, one I would not wish upon even the worst enemy of the Heavens." He wrapped an arm around his wife and began leading her to the mess tent, "Come, let's enjoy dinner with Kjelle. We should enjoy the time that we have together, and allow Robin and her family to sort this out for themselves."

The day had been a whirlwind of emotions.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Naga hovered above them all, Her expression neutral. She exuded an aura of calm only possible as a Divine Being. It proved a boon to the beleaguered Shepherds, tired from the mad dash to Mt. Prism and morale low following Grima's Awakening. Her most recent bit of wisdom was anything but calming, however. As She stated, the only power capable of permanently ending the threat of Grima:

"... 'Twould be his own."

Frederick, ever stalwart and alert, was the first to react to this declaration, "He would have to end his own life?"

"Though our power is of equal measure, as I stated before, neither of us are capable of destroying the other fully. Only a power greater than our own, or our own power turned upon ourselves, could bring about our ultimate end," Naga said, the serene cadence of Her voice never wavering. "Unfortunately, I know Grima. His sole desire is to add to his own power and set ruin upon the world."

Robin lowered her head, voice low as she added, "Like… when he tried to unite the two of us, and I lost my memory in the field."

"Yes, fellblood. Had the merge succeeded, Grima's power would have increased two-fold, and the world would be naught but ashes. Fortunately, 'twas not so."

Robin flinched as she faced the Divine Dragon, "So you know of my lineage…"

"Yes, I sense your power, and the power of your offspring," Naga stated, drawing attention to Morgan and Lucina. Their faces grew hot under the sudden scrutiny and they averted their eyes from the others' gazes. Naga continued, "The darkness of the fell dragon resides in all three of you."

'My power…' Robin thought, the gears in her mind shifting as she pondered Naga's words, seeing perhaps the only hope they truly had, "Divine Dragon, what if I were the one to strike the final blow against Grima?"

All heads turned to Naga, and She in turn regarded Robin with an almost solemn expression. Her words seemed to be chosen carefully as She replied, "You are the avatar of the fell dragon, and thus possess a power like his. Were you to strike the final blow, the fell dragon would be unmade."

A cheer rose from the gathered Shepherds, hugs and kisses being shared in their revelry. Chrom released his wife from the bear hug he enveloped her in. 

"This is great, my love! We can bring an end to Grima's terror once and for all!" he exclaimed. His triumphant grin made her body run hot with a rush of excitement and affection. Before she could reply however, Naga's voice rang out once more.

"However," She began, immediately commanding the Shepherd's full attention, "destroying a power like the Grima's is not so simple as dealing the final blow. Were the strike to be done with the Exalted Falchion, the power in the sword and dragon would simply cancel out. Because the power of Grima is an intrinsic part of you, when both you and he cancel out, you too will be slain." 

A tense silence fell over the Shepherd's expressions falling into either shock or horror at the prospect of losing their beloved Tactician, and more importantly, a beloved mother and wife.

"That's… That's unacceptable!" Chrom cried, his face tightened frustration as he turned his head up to the Goddess, "Is there truly no way to end Grima once and for all without sacrificing Robin!?" His fists clenched and his heart sank simply at the mention of sacrifice. The Shepherds had come so far without losing a single man due to their tactician's brilliance, only to find that to achieve their goal they'd have to sacrifice the one who made that happen? 

He refused to accept that.

There was a short pause. Naga's eyes swept over the crowd before Her, taking in their emotions and desires. Though She knew what She had to say next would make things no better, She felt that the humans before Her had earned the right to know ALL of their options. 

"If you wish to end Grima forever, there is no way forward without sacrifice. Although, it need not be Robin who commits it." She raised Her hand and pointed to where Morgan and Lucina stood next to each other. "You two, children of the Exalted bloodline and the avatar of the fell dragon. The same power that resides in your mother resides in your blood as well. Were one of you strike the final blow, Grima would be eliminated permanently. However, your Exalted blood would not be enough to save you, and you would perish along with the fell dragon."

Morgan and Lucina shared a glance, unsure of how to respond to the revelation of their new found responsibility. Morgan's face had sunken, unsure of himself, while Lucina's held a firm resolution only she understood yet her sadness was clear. The rest of the Shepherds simply stood in silence as they tried to process what they had been told.

Naga decided to let them go, as She understood the knowledge She bestowed upon them was much to bear. "You may rest here on the Mount. You have made a long journey, have faced many powerful enemies, and have been given a very difficult decision to make. With the Fire Emblem it is within my power to hasten the passage of time here, allowing you more time to rest without worrying for the destruction Grima causes in your absence. I shall retire to my temple. Should you require more of me, do not hesitate."  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Robin as she slammed her fist onto the war table. The tiny figures representing soldiers jumped and scattered across the many maps that littered the table. Robin was red in the face, veins bulging as she glared at her daughter Lucina.

"Mother, Grima is my destiny, my responsibility! This is my fate, not yours!" Lucina yelled back with force equal to her mother's. Her face was an similar shade of red and her fists were clenched so tightly she nearly drew blood from her palms even through her fingerless gloves. Morgan sat in the corner, head tucked into his lap with his hands secured over his ears, the weight of the pressure making him want to hide, but he wanted to believe that this could be a sign he could really do something great with his life.

Chrom chose this moment to interject, "Both of you stop!" His face was drooped due to his exhaustion not only physically but emotionally. Ever since Naga released the Shepherds and they set up camp, his family immediately came here to discuss their new information. Which then led into this verbal battle which has gone on for quite some time. "Why will neither you of stop and consider all of our options?"

"Shut up, Chrom!/Be silent, father!" Came the responses, their twin glares solidly focused on him.

Morgan had finally had enough. He rose and screamed as loudly as he could, "STOP IT!" 

His family all turned to him in shock. They had forgotten he was with them in the tent. He hadn't contributed to the argument, causing their focus to narrow on each other instead.  
Morgan ran his eyes over his family, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "We shouldn't be fighting each other like this! We're family! This isn't… this isn't right!"

The four looked at each other, Robin and Lucina breathing heavily as they did most of the arguing. Seconds passed before Robin spoke up, "Morgan is-" she stopped to cough, her throat weak from the strain of raising her voice. "Morgan is right. I'm sorry Lucina, Chrom. I let my temper get away from me."

Lucina averted her gaze from her family and trained on the ground beneath her feet. "I apologize as well, father, mother, Morgan."

Chrom took the opportunity presented, "We are all very tired, and not very calm right now. This… problem we have, deserves us at our best, not at each other's throats. Let's rest for the night, and continue this tomorrow. Naga has guaranteed us enough time for that, at least."

The other three agreed, and slowly they made their way out of the war tent to join the rest of the Shepherds for dinner. Though the issue remained unresolved, they were able to put it aside for now and follow Chrom's advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the first chapter of my first fic ever! Special shout out to my two wonderful beta readers CloudyLightning and tiger002, without whom this chapter and the rest of the story would not have half the quality it does. Please leave a review to let me know what I can improve on or if any errors slipped through the net!


	2. Chapter 2

The morning sunlight broke through the walls of the tent, beams of light visible as they attacked the eyes of the sleeping couple. Spooned together in their royal cot, Chrom and Robin were treated to the sunlight disturbing their rest. They fought valiantly for the few extra minutes, but the discomfort boiled over first. It left them no other choice but to get up.

Robin was the first, rising and letting a yawn loose as she stretched her arms above her head. Unfortunately for Chrom, his wife blocked most of the rays from hitting his face. Once she shifted, he received a full on hit he wasn't expecting. He raised his arm to block them as he groaned and turned, only to move too far. He fell off the other side of the cot in a heap, taking the blankets with him. Robin looked on in mild bemusement. If one didn't know her, they would've missed the slight quirk of her lips, and mistaken it for disinterest.

"Good morning, darling," she deadpanned, "I see you're off to a good start."

"Please… not before breakfast. I'm not ready," Chrom groaned, attempting to disentangle himself before giving up and spreading out on the ground.

Robin threw her pillow at his head, "Get up then and we can get some." She scooted over to the edge and stood up, looking for her usual clothing.

"Please, would you-"

"No, I'm not bringing food back to the tent. You'll leave crumbs and attract bugs here. I'm also your wife, not your servant."

"… Robin-"

"You remember what happened last time you tried to pull rank on me?" Chrom snapped his mouth shut and forced down a shudder. "Good!" Robin smiled brightly as she tossed his cape at him, "Now get dressed so you can stop complaining."

"Yes, dear."  
\-----------------------------  
They took their food and settled at a table in the mess area. Since Naga gave them a day of relief, most of the Shepherds were still sleeping in, and they had plenty of privacy.

Once Chrom had food in his stomach, he decided to breach the subject, "Robin, about yesterday…" was all he got out before Robin interrupted him.

"Chrom, if this conversation has anything to do with Lucina having agency as an adult and being able to make her own decisions, I will depose you." The glare Robin pointed at Chrom was sharper than Falchion's edge.

"N-no! I agree with you in fact. Lucina and Morgan sacrificing themselves is absolutely out of the question," Chrom began, raising his hands to show his innocence.

Robin blinked, then released her glare, "Sorry. I suppose I'm still… prickly, after that whole thing." Robin sighed, shoulders sagging as she looked down onto her plate.

Chrom straightened himself up in his chair, and hesitantly continued, "It's fine… In fact, I believe that ANY sacrifice in this situation is a little out of the question." When Robin's head shot back up, Chrom nearly recoiled, but held himself firm, "Robin, you can't expect me to be okay with the thought of you dying any more than I am with our children dying."

"Chrom, you say that like we have a choice." Robin looked at Chrom as if he was a child. "Grima has to be destroyed."

"Grima is a threat that needs to be stopped yes, and Naga has given us a way to do so."

"The Exalted Falchion will put Grima to sleep, not end him. You do understand that, don't you?" Robin questioned, left eye brow slowly raising.

"Yes, I did hear her. For one thousand years, we have the time to come up with another permanent solution to stop him," He finished with a nod and a small smile, "Sounds like plenty of time to me."

Robin wasn't convinced, "You say that as if there is some other way."

"There may very well be. We just haven't figured it out yet. You can't say that it doesn't exist."

"And you can't say that it does!" Robin finally snapped, slamming her hands on the table and rising from her seat. The loud bang aroused the attention of the Shepherds meandering about. "We have to work with what we know! I can do it. Morgan and Lucina can do it, but that's because they're my children! The only way we know how to do this is through my blood, but what if that blood is too diluted in 1,000 years? Hells, what if my bloodline doesn't even exist in 1,000 years!? There's no way to know for certain."

"Then they can use the Exalted Falchion to send him back to sleep," Chrom stayed seated and kept his voice level, though there was a tone to his voice that tried to communicate to Robin to calm down. She ignored it.

"If they still have the sword, if someone of Exalted blood wields it, IF they have the Fire Emblem and the five jewels to call Naga to do it, and so MANY other things that would have to go right! We can't take all of these chances, Chrom! You can't!"

"I can't?" Chrom questioned, arcing his eyebrow in a manner similar to his wife's earlier.

"You are the Exalt, Chrom. Leader of the Halidom. Ruler and protector of Ylisse. You can't play games of chance with the fate of your kingdom."

Now Chrom rose, face twisted in indignation, "This is not a game to me!"

"Then you need to be willing to step up and accept what needs to be done for the good of everyone! Sometimes that means sacrifice!" Robin paused, wincing at her next thought before continuing as sure as before, "Emmeryn understood that, and you need to as well."

All emotion fell from Chrom's face. The red that had been gaining on his cheeks disappeared, leaving only paleness to portray his shock. The few Shepherds that were listening in all decided to take their food elsewhere and depart quickly. It was a few moments after the last Shepherd departed when Chrom finally replied. "How could you use that against me?"

Emmeryn's sacrifice was a meaningful moment for every Ylissean and Plegian present. For Ylisseans, it showed Emmeryn's love for her people went so far that she would sacrifice herself for them. For Plegia, it showed the strength of Emmeryn's character and how different she was from her war mongering father. It gave thm something to compare their own mad king to. For Chrom…

It was the moment of his greatest failure.

"Chrom… I'm sorry, but you need to grow up. I love you, I truly do, and you inspire me every day," Robin's voice lost its challenge, and she adopted a downcast expression, "I love how positive you are, I love your empathy, and I love the hero you've proven yourself to be. But like when I told you back in the desert… When Gangrel tried to force us to trade the Emblem for Emmeryn, you need to be able to let go."

Chrom closed his eyes and took a deep breath before staring at his wife straight in the eye, "… I refuse."

"Chrom-"

"No! You're right, I do have a duty to my Halidom. I have NEVER forgotten that. Nor have I forgotten about my sister's sacrifice! But I think you've forgotten about my other duty."

"What other duty?" Robin challenged.

"To you. To my children. To our family. I swore on the day that I married you that I would love, cherish, and protect you to the best of my ability. When you gave birth to Lucina, I extended that vow to include all of our family. Assuming the Chrom of the future is half the man Lucina reveres him as, he made the same vow. I'll take it up in his place to protect Lucina and Morgan as well." His eyes shined with unshed tears. "I have a way to protect my family AND my Halidom. Naga has blessed me with the ability to put Grima down. I believe in us. I believe in the Halidom that we have sworn to protect that if needed-if somehow we can't find another way to beat Grima, that we can put him back to sleep should he awaken again. And again. And every time we'd need to until he is destroyed." Chrom paused to gather himself, before giving his wife a small grin, "I'm not the only one assuming a lot of the future, Robin. It's only that you are so narrowly focused on the worst case that you don't have hope."

"I have to, Chrom. I'm a Tactician, and Grima is-"

"Not your fault, nor your sole responsibility." Chrom said simply. "Have you thought about the Halidom that we share?"

"Of course I-"

"Then what about your family? Our family," Chrom questioned, "If you sacrificed yourself, what would I tell Lucina when she asks me why her mother isn't around? How could I be able to look into her eyes and answer that question when I allowed her mother to die, but I had another option? What about the other Lucina, and poor Morgan? He'd be devastated.

"Not only that, but the Halidom needs you… I need you. The Halidom wouldn't be half as well off as it is now without you. Not only your military tactics, but your advice has been absolutely priceless in helping me settle disputes between the nobles and make the most people happy that's possible. You make the Halidom better, and you make me a better man to rule it." He stopped for a moment to wipe his glistening eyes, gazing at his wife in pure adoration, "I knew it the moment I met you. You complete me, Robin. I need you by my side."

Robin couldn't hold back her own tears anymore, and rushed around the table separating them, screaming, "Dammit, Chrom!" before throwing her arms around him in an embrace. The two stood there silently, holding each other up as they allowed themselves to cry.

After sometime, Robin sobbed, "I… don't think I could live like that. I don't know if I can accept that I could've defeated him, but didn't. I wouldn't let it go."

Chrom tightened his hold on her, "And I can't live with knowing the love of my life died when I had another option. I can't let you do this."

Robin stood still taking what comfort she could before she pulled away. "I… I have to go. I'm sorry Chrom," she said before she hurried away. Chrom couldn't even raise a hand to try to stop her. He just stood where she left him, fist clenched in anger toward Grima. Toward the cruel hand fate dealt to him and his family. But as his rage boiled, his resolve hardened.

He would not let his wife down. He would not fail again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Sorry for the delay for this chapter! I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again.
> 
> Once again, thank you to my lovely Betas, CloudyLightning and tiger002 for their help in making this chapter as great as it is! Truly, you would not have as enjoyable an experience reading this without their help!


	3. Chapter 3

Morgan squinted as he slowly crept through the grass. He could just barely make out a figure attempting to blend in with its surroundings. He knew this was the crucial moment: any mistake in his approach, even the slightest of miscalculations, and all of his effort would be for naught. One step after another he made his way closer, sweat beginning to form on his forehead as his brow wrinkled in concentration. Only a few more meters to go, and he’d be right in position.  
  
Three…  
  
Two…  
  
One…  
  
“Checkmate!”  
  
Morgan pounced, hands extended outward as he grabbed at his prey. Returning to the ground, he tucked into a roll and managed to stop in a sitting position. Steadying himself fully, he looked down to his clasped hands tucked against his chest. ‘ _Good,_ ’ he thought, ‘ _I didn’t close them too tightly by mistake!_ ’  
  
Beaming excitedly, he made a small opening in the clasp to look at what he had captured. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it out clearly, so he just decided to go for broke and open his hands. Still smiling, he pulled his hands apart to reveal…  
  
Nothing?  
  
“Huh?” Morgan said aloud, checking his hands and even rolling up his sleeves to see if it might’ve escaped there. Not seeing it, he scrambled on the ground before looking up and behind him, finally finding it. The cool, blue-glowing butterfly he’d attempted to catch for a closer look was making its escape into the air, far beyond his reach now.  
  
“No… ugh,” Morgan moaned, falling to his back on the grass. Giving a sigh of defeat, Morgan settled into a comfortable position and closed his eyes. While the trip to Mount Prism may not have been going as well as he’d hoped, at least it had some cool insects for him to play with. Many of the ones he’d seen up here were unlike any he’d seen elsewhere in his travels with the Shepherds. Though that could’ve just been chalked up normal regional differences, part of him wanted to believe that the divinity of the area touched the insects as well, changing them in ways mere geography couldn’t. ‘ _I wonder if that makes the bugs like, mini-gods and goddesses._ ’ He mused. _‘Is that blasphemous, or would it be more blasphemous to ignore the entire pantheon of wildlife here? Maybe I should ask Libra. Or wait, should I ask Miriel? I don’t know if this is a religious question or a scientific question… Could it be both?_ ’ Morgan groaned and ran his hands through his hair.  
  
Morgan was always a deep thinker. When given a question or problem, he gave no less than 100% to finding a solution, no matter how trivial it seemed, or what rabbit holes it led him down. He loved solving things, from figuring out the best positions from which to flank an enemy to figuring out where Cynthia misplaced her Pegasus brush again.  
  
He liked to think he got his mindset from his mother. Morgan smiled as he thought of her. She truly was his idol, and he wanted nothing more than to be just like her. Her brilliance with tactics, her proficiency on the battlefield, the way she could inspire people so easily, her selflessness, and her many other wonderful aspects he could spend the whole day naming. He had so many memories of her he could draw examples from.  
  
So many memories of her. So many. Memories. Of her.  
  
And hardly anything else. Even the vivid and clear memories of his mother had holes in them.  
  
Before that thought could begin to bring him down, Morgan finally became aware of a presence close to him. So deep was he in his ruminations on insect divinity and his mother’s greatness that he hadn’t heard the other person’s approaching footsteps. It was only when they began talking to him that he finally realized he wasn’t alone.  
  
“There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know,” came a familiar voice. Morgan’s eyes shot open to look at the smiling face of the woman he was just thinking of.  
  
“Oh, mother!” Morgan rose to his feet in a rush and faced his mother. “I wasn’t napping, just thinking! Mount Prism is beautiful and full of all kinds of interesting mysteries!” He finished with a big grin.  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow and perched a hand on her hip, a wry grin taking over her expression. “Oh, is that right? And just what kinds of mysteries are you uncovering lying on the ground napping, huh?”  
  
“Mother!” Morgan whined, “I totally wasn’t napping, honestl-” Morgan paused, finally taking in the greater details of his mother’s face. Though mild in expression, there was a strange puffiness about cheeks. Her eyes appeared slightly swollen, and there were hints of fading redness around the edges. Morgan stiffened for a moment, before he composed himself enough to speak, “Mother, is… something wrong?”  
Robin’s expression shifted subtly. If it were anyone but Morgan looking at her, they might have missed it. Morgan has spent his entire observing his mother, puzzling over every action and expression she ever performed. The only person likely to be more familiar with his mother’s body language was Tharja.  
  
“No, nothi-” Robin paused as Morgan frowned at her. Robin sighed, “I don’t know why I bothered trying. It’s just that… I just finished speaking with your father.”  
  
“Oh...” Morgan’s gaze wandered for a bit before he looked again at his mother, trying to adopt a more neutral expression, “Do you… Do you want to tell me about it?”  
  
Robin slumped and turned away from Morgan, looking out over the grassy plain of Mount Prism. “You’re right, this place really does look beautiful.” Robin sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Morgan stared at her for a bit before mimicking her position, settling down right next to her. The two sat in silence, the wind and the scant wildlife providing the only sound between them. Robin extended her arm around Morgan, pulling him into her. Morgan rested his head against his mother’s shoulder, relishing in the comfort.  
  
It was quite a while before the silence was finally broken. “Your father and I were continuing our conversation from last night. Deciding on how to deal with Grima.”  
  
Morgan flinched, and tried not to let his discomfort leak into his voice. “Oh… I guess you still don’t agree?”  
  
“No. Well, at least we agreed on how we’re not doing it, I guess.”  
  
“I see.” Morgan paused inhaling deeply before probing more, “Have you spoken to Lucy too?”  
  
Morgan felt his mother’s cringe more than he saw it. “No… I’m sure she’s still angry, and I’m not sure either of us is ready to talk to one another yet.” Morgan murmured a sound of acknowledgment.  
  
“You guys,” Morgan continued hesitantly, “You were all yelling at each other so much last night.”  
  
“I know. I’m sorry we upset you so much. Thank you for stopping us.” Robin gave him a smile and pat his head. “I’m proud of you for reminding us that the last ones we should be fighting are each other. I suppose,” Robin paused. “We just lost ourselves in the moment. It’s… not easy to talk about such things.”  
  
Morgan agreed. It was a deeply complicated situation. In order to destroy Grima once and for all, either he, his sister, or his mother had to die. Or they could risk Grima taking the world again if Chrom put him to sleep. The idea of allowing the Fell Dragon to come back didn’t sit well with him, but the idea of losing his mother or his sister was even worse. Even without remembering Lucina, he still bonded with her just as well in this timeline. His mother loved her deeply, so he knew losing Lucina would hurt her deeply. Losing his mother… That was an idea Morgan wouldn’t entertain in his worst nightmares.  
  
“Well… I don’t really know what to say about it, or have anything to contribute, other than-” Robin’s hand tightened on his shoulder, and he quickly moved on. “But I know one thing for sure.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Yeah, that our family is amazing,” Morgan continued, pulling out of his mother’s embrace to look her in the eye. “We’ve got you, the greatest tactician ever, who’s just as awesome at forging alliances as she is ending wars.” Robin snorted, “Father,” Morgan continued, “the strongest Exalt since Marth, who dethroned the Mad King Gangrel and ended his reign of terror. Lucy, the bravest Exalt since dad who stared the Fell Dragon in the eye and never gave up hope. Then there’s me!” he exclaimed, pointing his thumbs at himself, “Son and apprentice to the greatest tactician!” Morgan picked up her hands and beamed at her, “We’ve won countless battles, and even managed to take down the unbeatable Walhart the Conqueror in months!! I know if we just put our minds together, we’ll come up with something so great even the big, dumb Fell Dragon won’t know what hit him! He may be strong and scary, but so are we, so are we, so I know we can defy the fate he’s trying to desperately to trap us in! I just know it!”  
  
Robin’s jaw had dropped partway through his speech, and she faced the ground, hair curtaining her face from Morgan. Morgan lost his smile and tilted his head, “Mother?” Robin’s body began shaking. “Mother?” Morgan questioned again, slightly more worried. Suddenly, Robin threw her head back and laughter erupted from her, a deep belly laugh that would’ve sent her rolling about the grass had Morgan not been holding on to her. He puffed up his cheeks, “Mother! I was being serious!” he indignantly claimed. His mother’s jubilance was incredibly contagious, and he had to fight valiantly to keep from joining her. He was making a real point, darn it!  
  
Robin suddenly pulled Morgan into a hug, Morgan completing it to hide his grin in her shoulder. “You are your father’s son! Only you two could say something like that in such a serious   
way!” she finished, dissolving into another giggle fit.  
  
“Well, when you’re a member of the Justice Cabal, you need to have a speech ready to go for any kind of situation.” Morgan replied with a shrug.  
  
Robin pulled back, ruffling his hair. “You’re a good boy. Such a-”

* * *

  
_“-good boy!” Robin said, smirking as she patted Morgan’s head through his hood. The castle was dark, illuminated by only a few torches. People like the two of them had no need for light._  
  
 _“Thank you, mother!” Morgan replied, cheeks warming at the praise from his beloved mother. “The enemy never saw our forces coming! I barely even needed to use them to replenish my own, they were so incompetent!”_  
  
 _“Good, good.” Robin replied, before settling back onto her throne. Her face took on a stern countenance and Morgan sharply shifted to stand at attention. Mother was giving orders, now was the time to listen. “For your next assignment, I want you to rendezvous with your sister and confirm the situation. Her last report says she’s found a lead on the main enemy, and if so, recovery takes priority over everything else. They’ve slipped through our net for too long.”_  
  
 _“Really!?” Morgan was shocked. To think that after all this time, she may have found them, “So we’re close to the end then!?”_  
  
 _“That’s right,” Robin replied, “At long last, it’s time to bring-”_

* * *

  
“-HEY, YA GOOFBALL!”  
  
Morgan blinked, shaking his head as he came out of his trance. Robin shook him slightly with a tender smile on her face. “Hey buddy, where did you go?”  
  
Morgan blinked a few more times before putting his hand to his head. “I dunno… I guess I was just… Daydreaming or something.” He finished. ‘ _It didn’t feel like a usual daydream, though. It felt… Like a memory?’ Morgan puzzled, ‘But something felt… off about it. What was that?_ ’  
  
Robin stared at him for a few moments before laying back down on the grass, letting the wind blow over her. “Come on down. Let’s enjoy being out here for a while longer.”  
  
Morgan settled next to her, looking up at the sky. He let his confusion fly off into the breeze, and simply enjoyed the time with his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Sorry for the delay, but one of my Beta Readers is no longer able to work with me anymore, so I had to go look for a replacement. And wow, is the Fire Emblem Beta Reader community alive and kicking! If you have the desire to write and need some help, now's a great time. I not only found another helper, but THREE.
> 
> Special thanks to The Erudite, Hammershlag, Harvesting Season, and tiger002 for all of their patience and help! Without them, this story wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable to read, I assure you! Hopefully from now on I'll be able to release chapters without at least a month in between them!


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